STAND. COM. REP. NO.  428

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 331

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources, to which was referred H.B. No. 331 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to help stabilize and support the economy of Hilo by:

     (1)  Requiring the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to extend the terms of all existing leases that were conveyed after May 23, 1960, on properties in the area known as the Hilo Industrial Area, until no earlier than 2026; and

     (2)  Requiring DLNR to determine, no later than January 1, 2016, and in consultation with the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association, whether it is in the public interest to relocate the existing lessees or develop the existing infrastructure.

     McCully Works; HPM Building Supply; Hilo Bay Printing Co., Ltd.; Hilo Fish Company; and several concerned individuals supported this bill.  DLNR, the Department of the Attorney General, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs opposed this measure.  The Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association offered comments.

     After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Deleting all references to Hilo, the Hilo Industrial Area, and the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association; and

     (2)  Generally allowing the Board of Land and Natural Resources to extend or modify, periodically and under certain circumstances, the fixed rental period of any intensive agricultural, aquaculture, commercial, mariculture, special livestock, pasture, or industrial lease; provided that the aggregate of the initial term and any extension granted does not exceed 65 years.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 331, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 331, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources,

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair